The Wavering Truth
by SallyCat1000
Summary: Professor McGonagall has assigned the Gryffindors to work with the Slytherins in pairs on a project, much to everyone's dislike. When Hermione Granger is paired with Draco Malfoy, she begins to learn more than she ever imagined possible.
1. Chapter 1

**_AUTHOR'S NOTE (PLEASE READ)_: This story of mine is just a fanfic. It is not intended to completely follow the real Harry Potter story, so if things seem different it's because it's my own version. Consider my fanfic a non-canon, meaning I do not abide by every single rule and event as seen in the original story line written by J.K. Rowling. Do not get me wrong, for some things will remain the same, but others will be different. Again, this is a non-canon fanfic. **

**And just a heads up since I couldn't fit it into the summary, the main characters are in their 5th year. Happy reading! =)**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

"Today we will be working on a new project, one that involves working with a partner," said Professor McGonagall as she spoke to both the Gryffindor and Slytherin students, slowly pacing the room. "This project will involve a lot of research on your part, so I expect you all to do well by visiting the library as often as you can. Should you require a book from the restricted section I advise you to see me as soon as possible so I can give you permission to do so."

A few groans could be heard around the room at the fact that a lot of research will be needed. Ron turned to Harry and muttered under his breath "Another project? Is she mad? Doesn't she realize we already have twenty-thousand other projects on top of this?"

"Mr. Weasley," interrupted McGonagall, giving him a stern look. "Should you wish to speak during class I could very easily give you a detention every day, after class, for the rest of the week on top of those twenty-thousand projects."

Ron bowed his head slowly. "Sorry professor."

She then turned back to the rest of the class again. "Now, I understand that you are all very busy as Mr. Weasley says, but with hard work it is manageable. You all will get into pairs with a partner and I want you all to write a thirty page paper together on a certain spell. Now, no two groups will share the same spell. Everyone needs to choose something different, but they can't be anything I have already taught you in class. In fact, I want them to be very rare and outdated spells that are no longer used today. This is why you will be required to spend as much time in the library as possible, including possibly the restricted section as this research will be very difficult to find. Some books may only have a sentence on your spell, while others may have a small paragraph or two. I want you to combine as much research as you can and tell me what the purpose of the spell was used for, who invented it, how was it invented, how exactly does it work, and why it is no longer in use along with any other additional information you can find to make it at least thirty pages."

At this a lot of students gaped at her. Not only did they have this project, but they had two other papers to write as well: one paper for potions and the other for Herbology. They also had a mid-term to worry about for Defense Against the Dark Arts to study for, seeing as it was coming up in only two weeks. Thinking they had it bad enough, McGonagall's next statement made it even worse.

"Now, because we have an even amount of Gryffindor and Slytherin students, I want you to gather into pairs from someone of a separate house," said McGonagall. "In other words, a Gryffindor needs to pair up with a Slytherin and vice versa."

"Hang on professor," interrupted Malfoy with great amusement. "Perhaps I heard you wrong. It sounds to me as if you want me and my fellow house to partner up with those from the Gryffindor house. If so, I find this impossible seeing as separate houses means it will be far more difficult to meet up, being located in different dormitories and all."

"No, you heard me correct Mr. Malfoy," replied McGonagall, wiping the smirk off his face. "For so long you all have partnered with your own house, but never from someone of a separate house. This is a great opportunity to get to know your fellow classmates better. I'm sure you can all manage to meet up outside of your dormitories."

"But professor," said Lavender Brown. "Meeting up outside of our dormitories is hard because we aren't allowed to roam the school at night. We have to remain in our dormitories at night and it is during this time that most of my homework and other project get done. I'm sure others will agree with me."

A majority of students nodded in response. Seeing as they were so busy throughout the daytime, they rarely had time to complete any of their projects except for late in the evening.

"Again," replied McGonagall. "If you need permission to do something you aren't normally allowed to do I will gladly give you permission to do so, so long as it is for academic purposes. Should you need to remain in the library until 2am, I will write a permission note for this."

No one else said any more. There were no more arguments that could be made. Harry and the others could only hope that they weren't partnered with anyone too dreadful. The worst he could think of right now as being partnered with Draco Malfoy. If that were the case then the project would never get done successfully with all the hate the two shared for each other. In fact, if McGonagall did choose to partner the two together Harry already had a plan in his mind to argue with her about this after class.

"Now, I have a list here already set up with whom you will be partnered with." Everyone sat up, waiting for their name to be called, praying their partner wasn't someone too horrible. McGonagall unraveled the rolled up parchment in her hands and cleared her throat to prepare to read each name."

"Dean Thomas," she read aloud. "You will be partnered with Pansy Parkinson." This caused both him and Pansy to groan in great protest.

"Neville Longbottom will be paired with Vincent Crabbe." Another groan could be heard. Neville looked petrified as if he had just received the death sentence, but McGonagall paid no attention to this and continued reading.

"Lavendar Brown will be partnered with Amanda Albat. Susan Brown will be partnered with Sandra Kenell. Andrew Simons will be partnered with …" on and on she went until she got to Harry, who discovered he was partnered with a Slytherin named Kevin whom he didn't know too well but assumed he was far better than Draco. Ron ended up with a female Slytherin named Rosetta, who again he didn't know well either but figured it too was far better than Draco or anyone in his gang. Then it came down to Hermione.

"Hermione Granger," she said. Hermione sat up with a concerned look. It was clear what was on her mind. She was hoping that if she had to be partnered with a Slytherin that it better at least be someone who was on the same page as her, academic wise. There were only a few Slytherins left that it could possibly be. It would either be Ellen, Casey, Draco, or Kendra. She hoped out of the four that it would be Kendra, seeing as Kendra always was concerned about her grades as well.

"Hermione Granger, you will be working with Draco Malfoy."

At that statement Hermione's stomach dropped. Ron and Harry gasped themselves, surprised that McGonagall would pull such a maneuver by partnering these two together, especially after Malfoy called her a Mudblood in the past. The word Mudblood was one of the foulest insults in the wizarding world.

"Professor," said Hermione, her voice panicked. "Would it be at all possible to change that? Everyone knows Draco and I do not get along and I just feel it would hinder our project together."

"For once I completely agree with Granger," said Malfoy. "I would way rather work with someone else."

"I'm sorry you two, but the list has already been made. There is no changing it. You two will just have to tolerate one another if you want to get an Outstanding on this project together."

"So there is absolutely no way of changing this?" asked Malfoy. "There isn't a thing that can be done?"

McGonagall looked between both him and Herminone, considering their plee of change for a moment. Then she finally answered them both. "I'm afraid not you two. I did not create this list myself. This list was created using magic. There is nothing at all in mine or anyone else's power that can change this. You have to work together."

"And what happens if we don't?" asked Malfoy. "What happens if we break this so called magic list you helped to create? Do we die or something?"

"Of course not," she said, sounding rather bemused. "I would never put your lives in danger over such a silly thing. However, if you two decide not to work together on this then you will fail and be held back for another year."

At this both Hermione and Malfoy had nothing more to say. Hermione continued to have a look of pure worry, while Malfoy held an expression of deep dislike toward the whole idea. Hermione didn't care so much for the fact that she had to tolerate Malfoy, but more for the fact that their hate for one another would ruin their grade. Hermione was known for her excellent grades in school. She couldn't afford to lose it over a bad partner who hated her.

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><p><strong>Authors Note<strong>

**Feedback is always welcome. I always look forward to what my readers have to say and I am always happy to respond. Until the next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"She's mad! That's what she is! Forcing us to work with the Slytherins. And for you to end up with Malfoy?" Ron rambled on ever since they left the classroom. It was now turning dark outside as evening slowly approached. They had the rest of the evening to themselves in the Gryffindor tower together. Ron was pacing the room, while Harry was sitting on one of the lounge chairs near the fire and Hermione sat opposite him on a couch with books on her lap, already prepared to get started on the project. There were a few other students in the room with them, but they mainly kept to themselves.

"Not to mention he's a death eater," said Harry, looking up from his Defense Against the Dark Arts homework. He couldn't focus with all the commotion going on. "You can't trust a death eater. He's dangerous. Who knows what he might try to pull when alone with you, Hermione."

"Do you think Dumbledore could do anything?" asked Ron with a hint of hopefulness in his voice. "Maybe he'll have enough common sense to switch partners."

Harry stopped to consider this for a moment. "I suppose it's better than nothing, but keep in mind he does trust Snape, so I doubt it'll do us any good if we mention Malfoy."

Hermione sighed impatiently as she finally pulled her eyes away from her work and looked up at the two of them. "Will you two quit fretting? I'm trying to get started by doing as much as I can so that way when I finally do meet with Malfoy I can tell him I already got most of it done. This will eliminate a lot of problems by having me do the majority of the work now."

Ron stared at her in bewilderment. "You're really going to let this happen then? Partner up with Malfoy I mean?"

"What more can I do Ronald?" she asked. "It's a done deal. You heard it from McGonagall. If we fail to be partners, then we fail the entire class and get held back."

"So if Professor McGonagall told you to risk your life in order to pass a class you'll actually roll over and do what she tells you to do?" asked Ron.

"I wouldn't word it quite like that, but yes," she agreed, pulling her eyes back down to one of the books in her lap.

Ron continued to just stand and stare at Hermione, waiting for a better response than that, but when he got nothing he continued. "You may be book smart Hermione, but when it comes to your own protection you're a downright git, you know that?"

At this, Hermione snapped. "Excuse me?" she exclaimed.

"You heard me," he said, though looked a tad bit regretful. Nonetheless, he did his best to keep his composure. "It's as if you don't care for your own safety. You're throwing caution into the wind."

"Why?" she exasperated, standing up from her seat and shutting her book. "Is it because I do what I'm told to do, unlike yourself? Besides, Malfoy wouldn't be stupid enough to hurt me in front of other people, even if he were a death eater as you and Harry claim he is."

Harry searched around the room, only to realize that they were dragging a lot of attention from their fellow Gryffindors. All eyes were on Ron and Hermione at the moment.

"He _is_ a death eater," argued Ron. "Also, you yourself have broken rules in the past. So why not now?"

"Those were different. Plus Dumbledore congratulated us for some of the rules we had to break."

"Did he ever congratulate you when you punched Draco right in the nose?"

At this, a few small laughs could be heard from some of the other students in the room. Hermione herself even cracked a faint smile out of the corner of her lip, but quickly replaced it with anger again. "Of course not, but—"

"But nothing!" he said, throwing his arms in the air. "You've broken rules in the past. Do it again so you can save your skin. Tell McGonagall you don't want to do this."

"I think you're overreacting."

"He's not overreacting," interrupted Harry.

"Yeah," agreed another voice from across the room. Neville Longbottom decided to join in on the conversation as well. He stood from his chair so he could come closer to them. "Do you know what he's done to me before? He has body bounded my feet together so I couldn't even walk. He's not a very nice person as far as I'm concerned."

"Neville," started Hermione. "He may not be nice. He's called me a mudblood in the past, but that doesn't mean he's going to murder me when he sees me. Like I said, I plan to spend as little time as I can with him so I can get a majority of the work done on my own. It'll make things far easier."

"Death eaters have no sympathy for others," said Harry. "Who knows he wouldn't hurt you and then flee the school?"

Ron and Neville both nodded in agreement.

Hermione was still annoyed. Had they all gone completely insane? Sure, she was dealing with a complete jerk who hated her guts, but to assume he'd hurt her, especially with all the witnesses that would surround them, was a bit much. He was still a student at Hogwarts. He'd be a complete fool to screw up his education by harming another individual. Finally, Hermione looked around the room one last time, packed her things in her small black bag, and bid them goodbye.

"I'm going off to the library for a few hours," she told them. "Maybe I'll get some peace there." And before anyone could say another word she was already out the door.

Two hours of sitting in the library at a small round table in the corner, stacked with massive amounts of different spell books, and Hermione still hadn't chosen a good, rare spell for their paper. Choosing a spell was obviously the first step. She had come across spells that were mostly modern day spells, or that were indeed rare, but were too similar to some of the modern spells to really be considered no longer used, such as the text in front of her: "_The spell 'lumos,'where light illuminates from the tip of the casters wand, replaced an earlier spell known as 'illum.' Lumos lasted for as long as the caster chose it to last, while Illum only lasted for a mere few seconds."_

"There is no way on earth I'll be able to write a thirty page paper on this," Hermione sighed in annoyance as she closed "_The History of Spells_" and instead switched to _"Wanda's Guide to Massive Amounts of Spells." _

As Hermione skimmed between the pages, she eventually felt a presence nearby and looked up to see who it was, only to realize it was Draco Malfoy staring right back at her. The two made eye contact for a short second, before one of them finally spoke.

"Hi Malfoy," said Hermione as politely as she could. "I just figured I'd get started on our project early is all. I've been searching for a good spell for the past two hours, but so far have yet to find a good one for us. Have you happened to find one yet?"

Malfoy said nothing at first, but after an awkward silence he finally answered her. "Look Granger, before we get started on any of this I just want to let you know that I'm not looking forward to this anymore than you are, okay?"

Hermione looked slightly puzzled. "Um, alright. I wasn't going to—"

"And I'd prefer it if we spoke as little as we possibly need to on this," he told her. "After all, for someone like _me_ to talk to someone like _you_ can be quite embarrassing if you catch my drift."

She smiled at this. "Why's that? Is it because I'm a mudblood? God forbid you work with someone a little different than you."

"A little?" he laughed. "You and I may as well be from separate planets. Or maybe even separate galaxies."

"Even if that were the case, we still need to get this done," retorted Hermione. "I refuse to get a low score just because I was forced to work with you. So I've come to the decision to do a majority of the work, if you don't mind. This way we will barely have to see one another."

"You want me to step down and allow a filthy mudblood like yourself determine my score for me?"

"Not determine the score. We'll still work together, just we'll meet up as little as possible. We'll meet up, make decisions on what should be done, but I'll be the one to act on those decisions."

"I refuse to have you tell me my score, Granger," he said. "You may get top scores on everything, but I'm fully capable of doing the same as you. Or scratch that. I am capable of doing better than you."

"Since when do you care so much about how well you do in school?" she asked.

"What are you talking about? I have always cared about how I do. I just don't go around bragging about it like yourself." He then heightened the pitch of his voice as he imitated her while putting what he thought was a feminine expression on his face. "_Oh, look at me. I'm the bushy haired mudblood who brags about all my scores and how much better I am than everyone else!"_

Hermione's blood was slowly starting to boil. She knew working with Malfoy would be bad, but they had barely spoken for even two minutes and already they were fighting. "You're one to talk. Who's the one who brags about being pure blood all the time? Who's the one who was happy when the Chamber of Secrets was opened in our second year because it put muggle borns at risk? Who?"

Before he could answer, the librarian had come up to them out of nowhere with a very angry expression on her face. "If you two keep this up I will be forced to kick you out," she hissed. "People are trying to read for goodness sake. Keep it down or out you both go."

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry Madam Pince," Draco apologized. "I was trying to do my work, but Granger here is too busy running her mouth."

"Excuse me?" asked Hermione in shock, standing up to glare at him. "Your mouth was running as well. You're the one who interrupted me in fact! I was doing just fine until you got here."

"Doing fine my ass," he snapped. "You spend two hours in a library and can't even pick a bloody spell yet! What the hell is wrong with you? Haven't you ever heard of the Stella curse?"

"The stella curse?" she asked, unsure of what that was.

"Enough!" snapped Madam Pince, her lips twitching slightly with frustration. "I want you both out of here now. Come back when you both can behave more like civilized individuals."

Hermione opened her mouth in astonishment, surprised at the fact that for the first time in all her five years at Hogwarts she was actually getting kicked out of the library. And it was all thanks to Malfoy. She shot him a death glare, while he paid no attention to her and was already walking out of the library. She quickly grabbed her school bag and wand. With the flick of her wand she managed to send all the books that had been sprawled over the desk back onto their bookshelves. She hurried to catch up with him. It wasn't until they were out in the corridor that she caught up to the point where he was in earshot.

"Malfoy!" she called after him, but he kept walking. "Malfoy, would you stop? We need to talk about our spell!"

"Another time, Granger."

Hermione wasn't giving up though. Sure, the two of them had serious issues between them, but she was determined. "What was that spell you mentioned just before? Stella? I've never heard it."

"What a surprise. Granger isn't as much of a know-it-all as she likes to pretend," he laughed amusedly, not even bothering to look at her as he began to make his way down one of the staircases. No doubt he was heading to his common room in the dungeons. Hermione continued to follow right behind.

"I never said I knew everything!" she argued. "Now would you slow down and talk to me already? I'm trying to be nice to you right now but I'm having a really hard time doing so with the way you're behaving."

After a few more strides Malfoy finally stopped dead in his tracks and turned around to look at her, only to have her run right into him, causing her to fall to the floor and have the contents in her bag spill everywhere. Malfoy merely rolled his eyes. "Not very graceful, are you?"

"Ugh," she groaned, rubbing her arm. She'd have a bruise on her elbow the next day for this for certain. "Gosh that hurt." She then looked around at all her stuff on the floor and began picking it up. Most people would be courteous enough to help if they were standing nearby, but not Malfoy. He just looked at her pitifully.

"Can't you please, for the sake of our project, just _pretend_ to be nice and help me for a change," she pleaded?

"Me? Help you?" he put on a look of deep dislike at just the thought of it. "You've got two arms and two legs. I'm sure you can manage that on your own." And with that said he walked off. but stopped once more to turn to her. "One more thing Granger. Since we have no choice but to work together, meet me after the Slytherin's Quidditch practice tomorrow. We will talk about it then." That's when he made his way to the Slytherin common room, leaving Hermione to herself.

Hermione let out a sigh as she picked up the rest of her items by herself. Some books, notes from some of her classes, quills, etcetera. After a minute or so she finally managed to gather everything back up in her bag. She then stood up to make her way toward Gryffindor tower..

Once back in Gryffindor tower she at first thought she'd be the only one up, seeing as it was practically midnight by now. In fact, it was so quiet at first that she was certain she was alone and that everyone else had gone up to bed. However, once she was fully inside the room she spotted the back of somebody's head sitting by the fireplace. It took a second before she recognized it as Harry.

"Hermione?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's me," she replied, walking toward him and sitting on the couch next to him. The two of them were quiet as they watched the fire crackle and burn before them. Then she decided to make small talk. "Is there a reason you're still awake?"

"Oh, I was just talking to Sirius actually before you came in," he explained. His voice sounded rather uneasy.

"And?"

"And he wants to risk his neck to visit me at the next Hogsmeade trip is what he wants to do. I told him I didn't want him to come of course, but he's pretty determined from the sounds of it if you ask me."

"Oh," she nodded, then fell silent again as she thought of a good response to help cheer him up a bit. "Perhaps we should tell this to Dumbledore? I'm certain he could talk some sense into Sirius."

"Doubt it," he muttered. "Dumbledore is far too busy as it is with other things." Then he changed the subject. "So how was your trip the library? Find any good information in there?"

"Gosh, the nonsense I went through just now is just … Well, I may as well start from the beginning. I spent two hours at the place and found absolutely nothing," she groaned. "But I did run into Malfoy up there."

Harry shot her a concerned look.

"He actually does know of a good spell to use apparently. I've never read about it before. Have you heard of the spell called Stella?"

He seemed confused. "Stella? No, I haven't. If anything I'd expect you to have heard about it before me with all the reading you do. And so what happened with Malfoy? Did he say anything to you?"

"Let's just say he's a complete prick," she admitted.

"What'd he do to you?" asked Harry with a mix of worry and anger. "Ron and I talked about this after you left. We both agree he's a danger to you and that you need protection."

"Just please, you two need to relax," she said. "He is a prick, but he's not a danger to me. He was being such a prat in the library! He got us kicked out of there as a matter of fact! And when I tried to ask him what the spell even meant he refused to answer; just kept walking off toward his dormitory, but he did say he will meet me tomorrow after his Quidditch practice at least."

"I did warn you about him," said Harry. "Look, Ron and I agreed to take shifts. Whenever you guys decide to meet up I'll take the first shift at making sure nothing happens. Then Ron will take the second. So on and so forth."

"In other words you feel I need a body guard?" she questioned.

He shrugged. "Basically that's the gist of it. Yeah."

"I don't think that's the best idea to have Malfoy see you guys taking shifts as my body guards. He might find that rather odd, don't you think?"

"He wouldn't see us of course. We'd keep a good distance so it's not so noticeable. We're not that stupid to have him see us, Hermione."

She sighed. "I can't have you do that. It will just seem odd and he will catch on. Besides, I am perfectly capable of protecting myself from harm if anything were to happen, Harry." She then stood up from the couch, grabbed her things, and started toward the staircase. She stopped to give him one last look first. "I am going to bed. Please do not worry about me. I'll be fine tomorrow. I'm going to try to catch him after Quidditch practice so I can ask him more about that spell he spoke of. You do not have to worry."

Harry looked as though he wanted to say something, but she was already partway up the stairs to the girls dormitory before he could speak.

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><p><strong>AN: Thank you for reading everyone! Feedback is always welcome! I hope you are all enjoying reading it as much as I do writing it :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Hermione awoke early the next morning. In an attempt to avoid Ron and Harry from badgering her any further about her protection from Malfoy, she decided to skip breakfast and instead make her way down toward the Quidditch Pitch to see Malfoy. Normally the Slytherin's practiced during breakfast time and would most definitely be there. She would simply wait outside of the Quidditch Pitch until they finished. This would be the perfect opportunity to meet up with him so they could get started on their project together and she could learn more about the spell he mentioned up at the library.

After getting herself ready for the day, she packed her notebook in her small black carrying bag and sat on the edge of her four-poster, waiting for the rest of her house to go to the Great Hall. This would allow her time to easily slip past Ron and Harry so she could meet Malfoy without any incidences.

Ginny saw Hermione and stopped to ask her, "Aren't you coming to breakfast?"

Hermione looked up. "Oh, no. You go ahead. I've got some things I need to do first."

Ginny appeared concerned. "What's the matter? Is something wrong? You can always tell me anything. You know that."

"Not at all," she assured her. "It's just this project for McGonagall. I really want to get started on it. That's all. Nothing to worry about."

That's when Ginny decided to sit down beside Hermione on her four-poster, still looking concerned. "But you never miss breakfast, even when you had that massive paper to write last year, you still ate. Are you sure nothing's wrong?"

"I am fine Ginny," Hermione smiled, trying to diffuse the tension. "Look. I'm not starving myself if that's what you are thinking. It's just that, as I am sure you know by now, I got paired with Malfoy on this project. Ron and Harry and being annoyingly overprotective about it and I want to avoid them by meeting Malfoy in secrecy."

That's when Ginny finally understood and let out a sigh of relief. "Well, so long as you aren't starving yourself." She let out a small laugh. "You had me scared there for a moment Hermione."

"You mean to say you're not just as concerned as they are?" Hermione sounded surprised, but relieved at the same time.

"Oh gosh, no," she responded. "Do you have any idea how overprotective all my brothers are when it comes to me being around someone they hate? Goodness, especially when I date a guy they can be downright gits! I don't think I ever told you this, but Fred once tried to hex a boyfriend of mine in my third year. I only dated him for a day and already Fred hated him!"

"No, I don't believe you ever mentioned that one," said Hermione. "Why didn't you tell us about that?"

She merely shrugged. "Well, seeing as I only dated him for a day I didn't find it a big deal at the time. And Fred I think missed him on purpose. Was only trying to scare him because he leaned in to snog me."

"So, why didn't you two last longer than a day?" Hermione asked. "Was it because of Fred?"

"Surprisingly, no," said Ginny. "He actually wanted to continue to see me despite this, but I broke it off because I immediately realized it was a mistake. You see, he asked me out that day and I dated him out of pity. It was stupid of me really. I didn't really want to be with him at all really, so I realized my mistake and broke it off. He was quite upset, but he moved on to some other girl a week later so it was for the best."

Hermione nodded understandingly. "Well, no one can blame you for that move then." That's when another girl interrupted them.

"Ginny, aren't you coming?" asked another Gryffindor girl, one of Ginny's friends. "Everyone else has already left."

"Coming," she answered. Then she stood from the bed. "I will see you later on Hermione. Let me know how things go after today."

Hermione nodded in agreement. The three of them descended the stairs from the girl's dormitory together, exited through the portrait of the fat lady, and went their separate ways. Ginny and her friend went one way, while Hermione went the other way.

Hermione made her way out of the castle and onto the school grounds. It was a gorgeous day outside. The birds were singing, the grounds were bright green as always, the sun was shining, and it felt like Spring weather even though it was the middle of November. She passed by Hagrid's hut, where they would be having their lesson later for Care of Magical Creatures. As she made her way by she saw a creature sleeping inside the wooden fence that she had never seen before. At first glance it looked like an ordinary black cat, but upon closer look she realized it had what appeared to be wings extending from his shoulders. Hermione could not help but stop and stare at it.

Hagrid eventually came out from his hut, most likely to head up to the school, but stopped when he saw Hermione. He smiled hugely at her. "Why ello Hermione. What brings you here so early? Shouldn't you be at breakfast with the rest o' the students?"

Hermione was silent at first, still eyeing the creature that was fast asleep on top of what appeared to be one of Hagrid's old moleskin coats. This must have been a makeshift bed he had prepared for the creature.

Hagrid turned to where she was staring and smiled. "Ah, found today's lesson early as well I see. Found him in the forbidden forest bout a week ago. Poor little tike was starving. Only skin an bones when I found him, but I beefed him up. See. Good an healthy now thanks ter me!"

"What exactly is he?" she asked with interest.

"Ah, well I'm not spose ter tell ya early before class," he explained, "but I'll tell yer anyway. He's a monfrey. One o' the rarest creatures out there. Only bout five hundred left o' them. Very small number when compared to other creatures."

Hermione stared in awe at him. "So what can he do? I see he can fly."

"He can fly, yes," Hagrid nodded. Then he lowered his voice to a whisper and leaned in slightly so only she could hear him. "But that's not all. He also has the ability ter read people. Just by being in close proximity ter him he knows every single thing about you from your past and your present. He knows all the details bout you and can even tell who is good and who is evil immediately. I'm glad he trusted me when I found him. Soon as I got close ter him he looked up at me, as if ter say thank you, for he knew how fond I am of creatures like him. He knew he was in good hands based on my past."

"Oh, wow," Hermione was astounded. "So when you say he knows all the details of your past, does he know what my parents names are? Or the old house my parents and I used to live in? Or that I am muggle born?"

"Everything," Hagrid assured her. "When I say everything I mean everything. Monfrey's have been used many times fer judgement of others. If they gladly come to you without putting up a fight, it means you are trustworthy and are an overall good person. But if they run from ya or hiss or put up any kind of fight it means there is something about you they don' like. In some cases you may even be evil if they put up a fight or run."

"But can't there be flaws in this?" she asked Hagrid. "I mean, what if the monfrey likes those who are evil? Couldn't his acceptance of someone who has commited evil be mistaken for trustworthiness?"

"Impossible," he shook his head. "Monfrey's will only accept those who are overall good and will put up a fight for those who are bad. And by bad I don' mean someone who once told a little white lie or who stole candy from a candy shop. I mean someone who one would have a valid enough reason not ter trust them or like them."

Hermione then smiled. "I'm sure he'd be running from You-Know-Who then."

"Well blimey. O' course he'd run from You-Know-Who. He's the most evil wizard out there!"

An idea then struck Hermione. "Do you mind if I hold him Hagrid? Just to see how he reacts to me?"

"I would, but let us save that for the lesson later," he smiled. "Don want ter spoil the fun early now do we? Anyway, enough about him. What did ya say you were doing out on the grounds this early in the day?"

"Oh, I'm just meeting Malfoy out here," she said. At the look Hagrid gave her, she explained. "It's a project. Professor McGonagall wanted us to do research on a very rare spell that is no longer used to this day. I just need to meet up with Malfoy to—"

"Why in the bloody blazes would she do that?" Hagrid interrupted her. His voice was calm, but unsettled sounding. "Is she outta her mind?"

"Please Hagrid," she said. She was getting so tired of everyone being so worried about her that she regretted telling Hagrid the truth. Nonetheless, she continued to be honest with him. "You do not have to worry about me. McGonagall just wanted her students to partner up outside of their houses for a change. Besides, he told me he knows a good spell for us. I don't think it is anything to worry about."

Hagrid seemed concerned, but kept his cool. He was not about to go against professor McGonagall's judgement. "Alright, but if he does anything to try an hurt you, ya know what ter do."

"Report it to Dumbledore of course," she said. "But he won't. I can assure you. Anyway, I need to get going, Hagrid. Their practice is ending really soon." She looked at her watch. "Or it's ending now actually. I've got to go! See you at your lesson later Hagrid!"

Hagrid bid her farewell as she hurried her way toward the Quidditch Pitch. She ran across the edge of the lake, through the pine trees, until she finally got to where she needed to be. She stood near the doors that entered into the Quidditch Pitch. When she first looked around she saw no one, but then her eyes fell upon Malfoy standing underneath a large elm tree with his arms folded across his chest, staring into the distance. He had not noticed her presence yet.

"Hi Malfoy," she greeted cheerfully as she made her way toward him. This grabbed his attention, for he finally looked at her. "How was practice?"

He stared at her for a moment. "It's about time you got here Granger. I've been standing here for the past twenty minutes."

She wanted to snap back at him with his attitude toward her, but thought it better to remain calm. "I'm sorry. I ran into Hagrid and we were talking for a bit."

"That old troll," he shook his head. "Waste of time really talking to him. Waste of space in fact if you ask me."

Hermione ignored this and reached into her bag to get her notebook out and quill and ink so she could jot down notes. "Let's just get started, shall we?" She sat on the grass with her back against the tree. Her notebook was on her lap, quill in hand, and ink bottle sitting beside her. Malfoy hesitated at first, but with much effort sat down beside her, leaving plenty of space between the two. "Now what was that spell you spoke of?"

It took him a moment to answer. "I still can't believe you never heard of it before Granger with all the reading you do."

"Please Malfoy," she was trying hard not to lose her temper. "Just tell me what it is called so we can finish this project as soon as possible."

A smirk formed upon his lips, seeming to enjoy the fact that he knew something she didn't.

"Please," she repeated. "The sooner you tell me, the sooner we will finish and you will no longer have to speak to me again."

"Alright fine," he agreed. "It's called the Stella curse."

Hermione quickly jot down the name of it. "And what does it do exactly?"

"It completely eliminates oxygen within ninety-seven yards of the witch or wizard who casted the spell," he explained. "Sometimes more or less, depending on the skill of the person who casted it, but the average is ninety-seven yards."

"Nintey-seven?" she asked.

"Blimey Granger," he said. "Don't you know how to listen? Yes, ninety-seven yards. The caster of this spell can still breathe freely, but anyone standing within his range of the curse will die if they don't find any oxygen soon enough."

"Okay," she continued to jot down notes. "Now what if someone within his range uses some type of counter curse? Or what if they disapparate?"

"They can't with this curse," he said. "Once you cast this curse and are standing within range, you lose all ability to cast any spell to fight it or disapparate. Now if someone is standing _outside_ of range, they can fight back using any spell they please, but not within. If you are in range you are basically dead unless someone on the outside saves your bloody arse or you manage to run out of range."

Hermione quickly wrote all of this information down, while at the same time asking him. "So do you know why it is no longer used today?"

"It's obvious, isn't it Granger?" he questioned.

She did not answer, but just stared back, waiting for an answer.

"Blimey, how thick can you get?" he said pitifully. "You're not anywhere near as smart as you pretend, are you?"

Normally Hermione would have hexed him by this point, but she continued to remain as calm as possible. While on the inside her blood was boiling, she did her best not to let this show. She remained quiet, still waiting for Malfoy to explain.

He sighed. "Just goes to show us purebloods are the true smart ones here when it comes to the wizarding world, but seeing as I have no choice but to work with a mudblood I will dumb things down to your understanding." Again, Hermione remained quiet. "It has been banned by the Ministry. Anyone who uses this spell will be sent straight to Azkaban, regardless of who you are. Witches and wizards have tried it in the past and the millisecond it gets casted is the moment when a ministry member puts an immediate halt to it to prevent it from even working to its full extent. The curse will only have made its way by about ten feet before it is stopped by a ministry member who has disapparated to the spot. The caster is then asked to attend a hearing, which they never win, even for self defense purposes, and is sent to Azkaban."

Hermione's hand scribbled notes at high speed across her parchment in front of her. It wasn't until she finished before she asked further questions. "And what exactly is the ministry's reason for doing this? After all, they haven't banned other horrid curses such as Avada Kedavera and the Crutiatus Curse."

"Again, quite an obvious answer but I will dumb it down for you Granger," he said. "It has the potential to cause a lot of problems. It has the ability to kill a large number of people at once. It also has the ability to kill anything that walks into its path. When this curse was around it killed hundreds of people and animals and even nature if it lingered long enough. The amount of time it lingers depends on the strength of the caster. Sometimes it can linger for only few seconds, while other times it can last for hours or days even. They would find areas where everything in a giant circle was dead. The trees, plants, animals, people, you name it. It became such a hassle that they just decided to ban it completely."

"I still don't quite get it though," said Hermione. "Why not just convict people of murder the same way they do with Avada Kedavera?"

"How the damn hell would I know why the ministry does what it does?" he questioned. "I just know it caused too many accidental deaths and problems, according to my father anyway."

"Is that how you found out about this curse? Your father?"

"What difference does it make, Granger?"

"I am only asking because this is a research project," she explained. "We need to tell McGonagall where all our information is coming from. Now, does your father have any books on this spell that we could use?"

"Again, how on earth would I know?" he asked with irritation. "I don't ask him if he owns books on it. He just tells me these things. Unlike you, my father doesn't always need a book on every subject in order to know things."

Hermione's blood continued to boil, but she remained calm, pretending not to hear him. This seemed to confuse Malfoy.

"What's wrong with you?" his voice held pity. "Can't even stand up for yourself? You're just going to let me walk all over you?"

She remained silent, staring down at her notes and jotting down a few questions about the spell that she would research later if she were lucky enough to find a book on it in the library.

"Ah, ignoring me I see," he smirked amusedly. He then stood up and looked down at her. "Well, I think I've given you a long enough lesson for today. If you want anymore lessons on anything, such as how to stand up for yourself then you know where to find me."

Hermione did not answer or look up.

"Or if you want lessons on how to respect your superiors," he gestured toward himself, "then you still know where to find me. And you can start by looking at me when I talk to you."

At this, Hermione finally did look up at him, but her face held pure anger. She could no longer keep her cool with Malfoy any longer. She snapped her notebook shut and stood up so she was more level with him. Despite the fact that he was a head taller than her, this did not intimidate her one bit.

"Do you think so lowly of yourself that you need to result to insulting others just so you feel better?" she asked with a glare. "Because if you truly felt happy with yourself, then you wouldn't feel the need to insult anybody to make yourself feel better, now would you?"

Malfoy couldn't help but smirk amusedly at her. "Shows how little you really know about me. I just know the proper way to treat a mudblood."

Hermione gritted her teeth. "That's it! I've had it! I am doing the project by myself from now on. Thank you for the name of the curse, but I will take it from here!"

Before Malfoy had a chance to say anything she left to head back to the castle. As she walked away from him, she heard Malfoy laugh as he made a snide comment from a distance, but didn't catch his exact words, nor did she care. She was determined to finish this on her own, without any further help from him. He had already given her the name of the curse and the main details. However, he had no books on it whatsoever, which was what they really needed. She could find that all out on her own.

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><p><strong>AN: Ok, I had to re-write this chapter 3 times before I was satisfied with it enough to post it, so please leave a review so I know how you feel about it and I will respond (I respond to all reviews).**

**Anyway, I hope you are enjoying it so far. I know I'm having fun writing it :)**


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